Doctor Who Season 6: SPOILERS!

Enjoyed No. 2. I also noticed the mysterious clean up of Starwhale puke but it only niggled for a second.

I thought the storyline wasn't as original as it could have been. Big ship + mysteries in the depths. However, good fun and the recurring crack in reality theme....what's going on there?

Looking forward to the Daleks.

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Originally Posted by Holbrook

Scripts are good. Matt Smith is good, I like.

Niggles;

Ep 1

Bad blue screen when Dr driving fire engine. (he was turning wheel one way, engine going straight on!)

Went from soaking wet to dry clothes in a matter of minutes.


Ep 2

Self-cleaning clothes and hair washed, blow-dried and styled with a few paces :eek:

Must be something about not allowing the actors to stand around in wet clothes for long ;)

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Apparantly they spent a full day filming the scene in the mouth (I watched Confidential :P ). That'd probably explain why they were dry, as the next scene would probably have been filmed later on.. Not sure.

Have to agree with the EP2 criticism about the self-cleaning clothes.

But for the most part, quite a good episode. I did laugh at Liz-10, especially when she said:

Spoiler:

"I'm the bloody Queen!"

Or something to that effect.

There was one section, right near the end, that annoyed me though.

Spoiler:

When the Doctor snapped at Amy/Amelia/Make Your Bloody Mind Up. Was it just a lack of clear thinking on his part (which I doubt), or something else? He knew she had, basically, no choice when she 'voted'. I didn't feel throwing it in her face was something the Doctor would do. Maybe it's because it was so... similar to his own situation? He just lost all logic and snapped, maybe. I'm not sure.

But sarcastic yay time. Another WW2 episode next week.

Don't forget, fans - It's US premiere week on BBC America! Here's a clip to get those of us who haven't seen it excited... The Doctor meets Amy Pond!

ABC premiered series 5 at midnight last night in Australia on their online iView service. I didn’t stay up until midnight but I watched The Eleventh Hour first thing this morning. My take on it – damn near perfect. Matt Smith is a brilliant Doctor. He is young, but his odd looks and mature demeanour make him perfect for the role. He has a great sense of comic timing but can also tap into deep banks of earnestness when required. Karen Gillian is not only gorgeous, but pulls off the tough and resourceful companion role without coming off like a thin piece of eye candy (though I did appreciate the miniskirt). The story was good, if not for a slightly dues ex resolution that is a common feature in most Doctor Who stories. I loved Time Traveller’s Wife elements of the Doctor’s meeting with Amy. It certainly had a fairytale quality, as overtly referenced in the script, which has set up their relationship as something special and over-and-above the usual Doctor-companion relationship. The plot had the right mix of humour, creepiness and pathos. Who didn’t get goose bumps when the Andraxes eyeball viewed the montage of all the previous Doctors through which Smith emerges? The science fiction elements to the plot were also reasonably clever, not necessarily always the case for Doctor Who. I also liked the way the series arc was set up with Prisoner Zero’s declaration that “The Pandorica is broken. Silence will fall.” Awesome stuff. It wasn’t all perfect but it was as good as, if not better, than I’d hoped.

So, I just (finally) saw episode #3.

No really strong feelings about it, but there was something quite funny that happened (those who saw it will know what I mean). 8/10, I guess.

Not that impressed with No 3. General story OK but somehow building and installing advanced technology in ten minutes????!!!!!!!!! I think not. A wave of the sonic screwdriver would have been more convincing.

Also, new Daleks suck. Sigh... will probably get used to them though.

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Originally Posted by Chuffalump

Not that impressed with No 3. General story OK but somehow building and installing advanced technology in ten minutes????!!!!!!!!! I think not. A wave of the sonic screwdriver would have been more convincing.

Also, new Daleks suck. Sigh... will probably get used to them though.

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Pretty much my thoughts. A lot of it made very little sense!

Not to mention they've gone all Mini with the Daleks (as in making them fat). I just sighed and continued watching.

FYI - there's an abbreviated version of the "Doctor Who Confidential" for "The Eleventh Hour" on the BBC America website! Confidentials are behind-the-scenes looks at individual episodes but they only air in the UK so check out some of the footage on our website!

The return of The Weeping Angels and River Song... what a great episode. This is what Doctor Who should be like all the time. Two part episode allow the story to develop at a much better pace. Hopefully, the second part won't fail like so many of the two part episodes from previous - including Moffat's own. However, based on the trail for the next episode... looks seriously good.

Even though I knew what the Angels did, there were still a few jumpy moments and I think young children would have been quite scared. However, the scariest moment - during the climax of the episode a giant bobble headed Graham Norton cartoon appeared advertising the next programme. Well done BBC for spoiling the mood!

It was particularly amusing if you watched Doctor Who: Confidential as they discussed in great length how important this scene was only for it to be ruined by a rather large and animated advert for Over The Rainbow to ruin it.

Can't disagree with that, Wulfa: even agree about the Graham Norton 'thing'.

For the first time ever, I've emailed the BBC complaint Department about how unhappy I was.

You may feel you wish to also: http://www.bbc.co.uk/complaints/homepage/


LATER EDIT: Not sure if this will go abroad, but here's the clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq1rq7sKPdI

And it really seems to have annoyed people big time. To quote Simon Pegg on Twitter:

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"(ironic) Congrats to the BBC for ruining the climax to Doctor Who with a cartoon Graham Norton telling about another f**king talent show"

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As to the programme itself:

Much much more like it. Response from the Hobbit household - "It's getting darker, isn't it?"

YES. :)

Mark

Yeah I did the same. I've never complained the the BBC and don't complain in general, but it was just so misjudged that I couldn't let it pass.

Some spoiler-ish stuff

Spoiler:

My only negative comment was that it did feel a little bit like Moffat's Greatest Hits. All it was missing was Sally Sparrow. We had the Weeping Angels, River Song and the disembodied voice (as used in Silence in the Library). All sounds good and is, the negative point being that it feel a little bit of a rehash - especially the voice thing. I did love River Song's escape from the Byzantium, very 25th Century James Bond. Moffat clearly has long term plans for her, but they will clearly not be solved within this Doctor's lifespan. I liked the fact her note book/diary looked like the TARDIS as well. I also like how the crack in time and space is appearing. I thought I noticed it in the video of the Angel during this episode and the trailer for next week shows it being a major part of the story. The story arcs under RTD, was for once, were far too subtle. You'd get the occasionally throwaway reference or the eagle eyed viewer would notice something, but nothing would really happen until the last 4 episodes.

Also, on another note, this episode looked amazing. The Byzantium design was pretty retro - Flash Gordon/Buck Rogers style. Location shooting also helps a lot! You can always tell a studio even if we have moved on from the days of Star Trek always using the same set, but with different coloured polystyrene rocks.

Matt Smith is making an excellent Doctor. His youth is forgotten about and while he does occasionally do a bit of a Tennant impression, he is very much a very different Doctor. Amy Pond is the most fanciable assistant so far.

So yeah, roll on next Saturday!

The Beast Below just aired in Australia. I found it very satisfying. A great blend of traditional Doctor Who elements with that Moffat style. Getting more and more impressed with the physicality Smith brings to the role. Not just his athletic leaping and running, but his little mannerisms like finger tapping and eyebrow wiggles. I'm becoming more and more smitten with Amy. The story was very good, and the penultimate scene was beautifully done...

Spoiler:

The idea the Star Whale being misunderstood and tortured from so long was very sad. And Matt Smith played the Doctor's turmoil perfectly.

...as was the final scene. Moffat has a great ability to create pathos without coming off as overly mawkish or sentimental. I hope they can keep up this quality.

Must of been a bit of a shock for the BBC receiving an email from Hobbit;) as they have said sorry;

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8642854.stm

LOL. Thanks Hol. Not something I normally do. By the sounds of things, though, I wasn't the only person who felt the need to say something. I'm usually a defender of the BBC, but was this insensitive and obtrusive.

Wonder if it appear again next week?

Mark